Every week, millions of Thais purchase lottery tickets in hopes that they may strike it rich. While lottery is a beloved pastime and part of Thai culture, success at winning requires more than luck alone; fate, faith, imagination and superstition all play roles in its outcome. But why do so many believe they can turn a few numbers into millions?
The national lottery (Thai: salak kin baeng; RTGS: salak kin baeng) of Thailand is administered by the Government Lottery Office (GLO). Each ticket features six-digit numbers. According to official government regulations, only citizens and residents of Thailand are eligible to buy tickets; however, private operators often run underground operations selling tickets to those not permitted to buy official government lottery tickets.
Studies conducted by professors from Thammasat University revealed that in order to win even the smallest prize from lottery purchases, an individual would require four years and two months. Given such slim odds of success, one must question why government supports such wasteful practice.
Thailand’s lottery market is an intricate web of beliefs. Some Thais believe that animal behavior provides clues as to the future lottery results; seeing an unusual animal on the road or at home could be seen as a sure sign that you will win big at this year’s draw!
Thais also believe that certain numbers are associated with certain events and characters; numbers considered lucky may appear in dreams or as names of elderly relatives; to find the winning numbers, Thais frequently consult online gurus who promise them secret formulas to find winning combinations.
Other, more elaborate methods of lottery winning include praying to banana trees, reading candle drippings in holy water, fortune telling with bamboo sticks and asking children to select random numbers from a list. All these strategies may be combined to increase chances of victory; many lottery winners have shared their own strategies with us, revealing they use everything from dream interpretation and animal behavior analysis in preparation for each draw.
Even though lottery may seem ridiculously farfetched, many are willing to take a risk and buy tickets with hopes of becoming overnight rich. Partly due to its cultural significance in Thailand where poverty and economic opportunities often remain scarce; but also as it has not been illegal here since decades and serves as a revenue stream for government authorities.